Easttown development debates continue

Two potential property developments in Easttown Township received plenty of attention this week.

Monday night’s supervisors’ meeting was mostly dedicated to the conditional use hearing for the proposed Audi Devon dealership at 222 Lancaster Avenue, the longtime home of ANRO Printing.

The applicant, Rockledge Property Group, had four witnesses provide information about the project to the public and board, which offered various responses during the over-three-hour-long meeting.

The primary sticking points are sidewalks, the possible closure of an entrance at a former bank at Lancaster Avenue and Fairfield Road, and potential noise from a car wash garage on the property. The applicant has agreed to further research and possibly adjust to those concerns.

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Rockledge granted an extension to the township to forward the process beyond the next scheduled supervisors’ meeting on Dec. 17, based on the 90-day limit on actions stated in the municipality’s planning code. The extension allows for another public hearing on that date.

Tuesday night’s planning commission meeting saw a lengthy discussion on the proposed residential development of a 10-acre property at 222 Waterloo Road, previously the estate of ANRO founders Angelo and Rose Rossi.

Applicant Boathouse Realty Associates, a division of Bentley Homes, wants to divide the land into eight individual lots. Much of the concern raised by the public thus far has surrounded storm water runoff. With the clearing and maintenance of existing storm sewers, and the planned installation of oversized underground seepage tanks and creation of swales, Bentley Homes CEO Tom Bentley said there will be a net reduction of water runoff. Township engineer Brady Flaharty agreed that appears to be the case “on paper.”

St. John’s Presbyterian Church borders the property, and suffers from frequent storm water flooding. Two St. John’s parishioners in attendance said they were worried the development could make a bad problem worse. After a sometimes-contentious debate, board members concluded that the church’s existing drainage issues were separate from the applicant’s proposal, and that they would need to be treated as such.

Following previous debates on historical significance, Bentley has agreed to keep part of an existing barn that dates back to somewhere between 1811 and 1833 on the property. The barn was completely refurbished by the previous owners, but will be reduced to a ruin featuring the remnants of the original structure.

With Tuesday’s unanimous board vote to now pass its recommendations regarding the proposal to the supervisors, it is scheduled to be addressed at its Dec. 17 meeting.